Low-Carb Diet Tested as Way to Slow Recurrent Prostate Cancer

In a small phase 2 study of overweight men with recurrent prostate cancer, consuming less than 20 grams of carbohydrates a day resulted in profound weight loss.

The following article is part of conference coverage from the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco. Renal and Urology News' staff will be reporting live on medical studies conducted by urologists and other specialists who are tops in their field in kidney stones, prostate cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, enlarged prostate, and more. Check back for the latest news from GU 2018.

SAN FRANCISCO—Findings from a small randomized phase 2 trial showed that overweight men with recurrent prostate cancer (PCa) who adhered to an extremely low-carbohydrate diet for 6 months experienced dramatic weight loss compared with those who did not, researchers reported at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

The ongoing trial, led by Stephen J. Freedland, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, is testing whether severe restriction of carbohydrate intake can slow PSA doubling time. In laboratory mice, this has been shown to slow PCa growth. For the study, investigators instructed patients to consume less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day, with no other dietary restrictions. They told patients in the control arm not to make dietary changes.

To date, 36 men (19 in the intervention arm and 17 in the control arm) have completed the study. Patient characteristics in the groups were well balanced at baseline, with patients in the low-carbohydrate and control arms having a median weight of 198 and 197 lbs., respectively, and median body mass index (BMI) of 29.0 and 29.7 kg/m2, respectively. At 6 months, men in the intervention group lost significantly more weight than those in the control group (27.7 vs 0.1 lbs.). They also had a significantly lower BMI (24.8 vs 30.0 kg/m2) and significantly smaller waist circumference (96.4 vs 108.9 cm).

“In this interim analysis of an ongoing dietary study for men with a rising PSA after failed local treatment, an extreme low carb diet results in dramatic weight loss in 6 months,” Dr Freedland's group concluded in their poster presentation. It remains unclear whether this weight loss slows PCa growth.